For most patients with breast cancer, around three permanent tattoos are currently used for treatment on average. Concerns over these semi-permanent marks disappearing before the patient had completed the full course of radiotherapy led to the gradual use of permanent tattoos as standard. If semi-permanent marks fade or need reapplying, there’s a potential for the marks to be redrawn differently, which could affect the accuracy of radiotherapy.
But these could rub off onto the patient’s clothes or when showering. In the 1980s it was common for patients having radiotherapy for breast cancer to be marked with semi-permanent ink. As with many new technologies though, it can be costly.
This also means that patients can be positioned underneath the radiotherapy machine without using tattoos. This image is then used prior to each radiotherapy session to ensure the patient is in the correct position. A 3D image is first taken as part of the planning for treatment.
The patient will have these tattoos for the rest of their lives, long after any surgical scars have faded.īut new technology, called surface guided radiotherapy (SGRT), uses three dimensional imaging to help radiographers position patients, avoiding the need for tattoos. While these tattoos are small (about one to two millimetres in diameter), they are permanent. These small tattoos are placed on the patient’s breast bone, and at points across the thorax. What many people might not realise though is that radiographers often use small permanent black ink tattoos in order to position a patient underneath the radiotherapy machine. This is the start of a long journey of treatments that usually involves surgery to remove the tumour – most likely followed by radiotherapy to the breast or chest wall. Every day in the UK over 150 women will be given the devastating news that they have breast cancer.
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